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President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief Showing Results

President Bush's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and other such programs are “showing results,” according to a June 13 fact sheet issued by the Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator.

As of March 31, the President's Emergency Plan has supported anti-retroviral treatment for approximately 235,000 men, women, and children through bilateral programs in 15 of the most afflicted countries in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean -- turning the despair of suffering and death to the hope of health and life.

More than 230,000 of those being supported live in sub-Saharan Africa, the fact sheet reports, adding that the United States continues to support treatment for more people than any other donor in the world.

These numbers exceeded the goal set forth in January 2004, to support treatment for more than 200,000 people by June of 2005.

Following is the text of the fact sheet:

U.S. Department of State
Office of Global AIDS Coordinator
June 13, 2005

FACT SHEET

President Bush's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief:
Compassionate Action Provides Hope Through Treatment Success

"There's nothing better than a hopeful society in dealing with the pandemic. A hopeful society means you think you can win. A non-hopeful society says, I surrender. America is not going to surrender to the pandemic."

- President George W. Bush

For too long, AIDS sufferers in the developing world have had very limited access to the life-extending anti-retroviral treatment (ART) more widely available in the West. According to the World Health Organization, only 50,000 of the 4.1 million sub-Saharan Africans who could benefit from anti-retroviral drugs were receiving them in 2002.

However, in 2003 -- under President Bush's leadership and with Congressional support and the generosity of the American people -- the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief was launched. The Plan represents the largest international health initiative in history by a government dedicated to a single disease.

The Emergency Plan is a five-year, $15 billion, multifaceted approach to combating HIV/AIDS, including bilateral programs in more than 100 countries around the world and support for multilateral organizations such as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

America's urgent action and innovation are showing results:

• As of March 31, 2005, the President's Emergency Plan has supported anti-retroviral treatment for approximately 235,000 men, women, and children through bilateral programs in 15 of the most afflicted countries in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean -- turning the despair of suffering and death to the hope of health and life. More than 230,000 of those being supported live in sub-Saharan Africa. The U.S. continues to support treatment for more people than any other donor in the world.

• These numbers exceeded the goal set forth in January 2004, to support treatment for more than 200,000 people by June 2005.

• Looking ahead, this early success puts the President's Emergency Plan well on track, scaling-up to meet the President's ambitious goal of supporting treatment for two million people in five years.

• We are particularly encouraged that 57 percent of persons receiving treatment are female, among the Emergency Plan-supported sites reporting such numbers. The United States is the only major donor to track treatment support by gender, and the Emergency Plan will continue to work to ensure that women and girls have full access to prevention, treatment and care.

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH OUR HOST NATIONS

The leadership and commitment to fighting AIDS in our host countries is strong and growing. U.S. government field staff work closely with partners and friends to implement each host nation's vision for fighting HIV/AIDS. The Emergency Plan is committed to working with national strategies to build capacity in-country: over 80% of our partners are indigenous organizations.

Success is possible due to the leadership and dedication of the governmental and non-governmental sectors in host nations. The country-by country results released today (see chart) were achieved by the work of talented and dedicated people in-country, including faith-based and other humanitarian organizations. The President's Emergency Plan is strongly dedicated to supporting their efforts.

TREATMENT RESULTS

TREATMENT INVOLVES FAR MORE THAN DRUGS

President Bush's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief is committed to supporting national strategies and partnerships with faith-based and other non-governmental organizations to provide the full spectrum of services required for quality treatment. With Emergency Plan support, the host nations are providing services that achieve results while at the same time building the local, sustainable capacity they need for national programs that will support their responses for the long term. The services and capacity expansion include:

• Trained clinical and laboratory personnel

• Counselors for treatment regimen adherence, prevention and healthy living

• Physical infrastructure including laboratory equipment

• Distribution, logistics and management systems for drugs and other commodities

AN INTEGRATED APPROACH

Despite tremendous progress, much remains to be done to expand treatment to those in need. Treatment brings hope that drives efforts in other areas such as prevention, counseling, testing, and care. President Bush's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief is committed to integrated prevention, treatment and care -- no one piece can stand alone.

• We are committed to prevention. Our goal is to save lives before they are ever infected with the virus. In 2004, 14,000 people were newly infected with HIV/AIDS around the world every day. The Emergency Plan will issue a program update on prevention activities, including behavior change approaches, Mother-to-Child prevention activities, and safe blood and safe medical injections programs later this month.

• We are committed to encouraging all people to get counseling and be tested. Only by being tested and knowing your status is it possible to get help. The United States has supported HIV/AIDS counseling and testing services for over 3.5 million people.

• We are committed to care. There are some for whom treatment is not possible but care can help all those affected, especially orphans and vulnerable children. The Emergency Plan had set a goal to support care for over 1.1 million HIV positive persons and AIDS orphans and vulnerable children by June 2005. This goal was exceeded in September 2004, and the March care numbers will be available in a couple of weeks.